


Eh?! You Can Present as an Omega After 30 Years of Being a Beta?!

by ax100



Category: 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい | 30-sai Made Doutei da to Mahou Tsukai ni Nareru Rashii (TV), 30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい | Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (Manga)
Genre: Alpha Kurosawa Yuichi, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, No Mind Reading AU, No mpreg, Omega Adachi Kiyoshi, Omegaverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27242326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ax100/pseuds/ax100
Summary: This is Adachi Kiyoshi, 30 years old, office worker, virgin, beta. Or so he thought.His life is turned upside down when, at 30 years old, Adachi suddenly presents as an omega, despite having been a beta his whole life (with the paperwork to prove it, in fact!). Now, he has to learn (relearn?) the ins and outs of his body while dealing with all the hassles that come with being an omega in this society, like tracking heats and having to remember to take his daily suppressant. Life would have been so much easier if he had presented as an alpha instead, like Kurosawa...(*includes a primer on omegaverse/ A/B/O setting for those who are unfamiliar with it!)(Note: Rating may change from T to M/E!)~~~~~CHAPTER 4:Adachi has 99 problems, and it's starting to look like heat isn't one of them.-In which Adachi has a grueling meeting with HR, and gradually comes to the realization that his biggest enemy in all this may not be biology, but bureaucratic red tape.
Relationships: Kurosawa Yuichi/Adachi Kiyoshi
Comments: 187
Kudos: 485





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hi hello! Ax here! And I am...COMPLETELY UNHINGED BY THIS ADORABLE J-DRAMA OH MY GOD
> 
> I've been feeling pretty terrible as of late, but I am not kidding when I say that this show RESURRECTED ME. Kurosawa's smile?? BRING ME BACK TO LIFE BABEYYY (Also, I think one of the reasons why I'm so drawn to him is because he kind of looks like Leeteuk from Super Junior? My forever bias? MY LOVE SINCE 2012?!)
> 
> *cough* Anyway. I couldn't get enough of this drama, so much so that I watched the 3 available episodes four times in a row in one day. That was *counts* two days ago. And now I've knocked out 2000 words without nary a qualm. What the fuck? How can I be this productive all the time, forever?
> 
> If you are new or unfamiliar with omegaverse, or if you just want a refresher or if you want to know my take on it, I've written a short primer in the End Notes! Thank you for clicking onto this fic even if you're not familiar with omegaverse! I hope this is a good introduction to it!
> 
> (NOTE: While this fic is (so far) only planned to be rated T, the rating might get bumped up to M or E, depending on where the story goes. If this happens, I will indicate in the chapter's beginning notes where mature/explicit scenes will start and end so you can enjoy the story while still skipping that content.)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the ringing of an alarm is abruptly cut off when a hand slaps down the button of a small clock on a bedside table.

Slowly, a figure buried under a thick comforter pulls himself up until he’s seated on the bed. He groans.

This is Adachi Kiyoshi, beta, virgin. And as of today, he is 30 years old.

* * *

_The world hasn’t changed much from yesterday,_ Kiyoshi thinks as he makes his way down the street. There are a few other pedestrians in the vicinity, all of them making the trek out of their quiet residential area to go out to the main street.

Yes, the world hasn’t changed much—not that he thought it would. When he was younger, he thought maybe he would be a little more worldly by the time he turned thirty, but as the years went by, and now that he’s actually at that age that many people considered to be a milestone, he knows better. He’s just as clueless as he was the day before. He didn’t wake up with any new-found wisdom or life-changing epiphany, or even a magical doorway to another dimension (isekai, take him now, he prays)—which kind of sucks, if he’s being honest. Any of those would have made things a little more exciting, at least. Or so he thinks. What he _does_ have are two messages on his phone greeting him happy birthday—one from his mom and one from Tsuge—and that’s the extent of his birthday celebration. The rest of it will go down in monotony forever. So much for hitting thirty.

He stops by the food truck he always gets his lunch at—two tuna mayonnaise onigiri, and all the empty calories that come with it. He spares a thought of maybe changing it up today, maybe mentaiko or umeboshi just to spice things up on his birthday—but no, Adachi Kiyoshi is a creature of habit and he likes his tuna mayo, thank you very much. It’s rote and routine, until he catches the seller—a middle-aged man he has never exchanged more than the required number of words to make a transaction with—looking at him strangely as Kiyoshi holds his palm out to receive his change.

“Hm?” Kiyoshi makes a questioning sound.

The seller cocks his head a little, fixing him with a look that is slightly unnerving. “You seem different today,” he comments.

“Oh.” Kiyoshi blinks, surprised. “Well…um, it’s my birthday today…?” What did he even mean, _‘different’?!_

The seller makes a sound of acknowledgement at that, then reaches below the counter to retrieve the thousand-yen bill Kiyoshi had handed to him. He places it back on Kiyoshi’s palm. “Then, it’s on the house today,” he says, then grins. “Happy birthday.”

“Eh?!” His eyes dart back and forth between his hand and the seller. “I couldn’t—“

The man waves him off with a dismissive gesture. “Just keep giving me business and I’ll overlook it.”

Kiyoshi stares down at the bill, then back up at the man. He distinctly feels the weight of the two onigiri in the plastic bag dangling from his other hand. Then, he bows his head slightly. “Um, thank you then…” he says. People being nice to him is a foreign concept in itself, but people being nice to him this early in the morning? He’s about ready to turn on his heel and head back home. He’s done for today. Done.

“Then, uh, I’ll be going now…” he says awkwardly, as he bows again for good measure. The seller is watching all this unfold, clearly amused, and Kiyoshi swears he can feel that gaze follow him as he brisk-walks away, barely restraining himself from sprinting through the empty shopping street at ass-o-clock in the morning.

* * *

By the time Kiyoshi has reached the crosswalk right before the large elevated walkway that leads to the area of his office building, he has calmed down. Somewhat. Mostly. Ish.

He settles in with the crowd to wait for the sign to turn green. It takes a while, as it always does, and more people are piling up behind him. Normal rush hour things—he gets bumped here and there by people vying for space, nothing unusual. Except—

 _Ugh, people are really laying the cologne and perfume on thick these days,_ he thinks with a grimace.

Seriously, did _everyone_ suddenly decide to spritz it up today? He smells something different with every inhale—something floral from the lady to his left, something strong and sweet from the guy on his right, something he can only describe as _woody_ wafting from somewhere in front…

His eyes flick up to the countdown timer on the sign. Twenty seconds is doable, except with the way this is panning out, he might sneeze something fierce before then. Maybe his allergies are acting up? It’s fine, it’s fine—

Someone bumps into him from the side, the movement jostling him. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” the woman says, accompanied by the very distinct scent of lemons.

“It’s okay—“ he begins to say, when her eyes suddenly dart up to look at him, wide and surprised. “Eh—“ He jumps at the look on her face.

It is then that the steady beeping of the crosswalk sign suddenly changes into a fast trill, indicating that it’s time to cross. Around them, the crowd starts moving.

The woman snaps out of it, then flushes red and bows. “Oh, I’m sorry, that was very rude,” she says.

“It’s…alright,” Kiyoshi weakly replies, not really understanding what the heck just happened. Someone shoves past him, smelling like pepper _(there was a market for pepper-scented cologne?)_ , and when he looks at them, the man gives him an unimpressed once-over over his shoulder, already halfway down the crosswalk.

_What…_

The woman bows again before rushing off, and Kiyoshi is left standing there, incredibly confused.

* * *

This has been, by far, his strangest birthday yet. Maybe this is what happened when you turned thirty? Suddenly your sense of smell becomes hyper-efficient and people keep giving you weird looks? Because that is what is happening right now as he rides up to the tenth floor in the building elevator, and he is _suffering_.

If the crosswalk hadn’t been bad enough, then this was just ten times worse—twenty people in an enclosed space, and he could smell _all_ of them. Who the hell had the time to work on their car before clocking in to come in smelling like motor oil anyway?! It certainly did not linger well with the scent of the freshly baked bread that someone must have picked up from the lovely little pastry shop down the street. And not only that, but people kept trying (and failing) to discreetly sneak glances at him the whole ride up. Actually, he had been getting weird looks too at the lobby while waiting, now that he thought about it. Why were they looking? Was there something on his face? Did he have his tie on crooked again? Was his bedhead that much worse than usual? _Could they tell he had turned thirty and felt sorry for poor Adachi-kun, single and unbonded as he was?!_

No, of course that couldn’t be the case, the thought almost making him snort. Betas couldn’t bear bonding marks, after all. The single part, that was woefully true though. And if Senpai and his big mouth were anything to go by, he was sure that everyone in the office, if not the whole _building,_ knew about _that._

There’s a quiet ding as the elevator reaches the tenth floor, and he prepares to push his way forward, as he usually does, but an older man in front of him with a kindly face shuffles backward to clear the path. “Go on,” he says with a smile, gesturing in front of him. He must not have gone home last night, for him to smell so strongly of charcoal like he had come from a yakiniku restaurant, yet his suit looks pristine.

“Oh, uh, t-thank you…” Kiyoshi awkwardly bows his head and shuffles out. More people being nice to him, which is…well, not alarming, but highly unusual. But his mother always told him never to look a gift horse in the mouth (unless that mouth was also trying to bite your head off…well, his mother told him many a thing growing up, really), so he takes the opportunity takes a big, big gulp of air when he finally gets out into the hallway, prompting some other people to look at him. He doesn’t pay them any mind. Finally, he could breathe again. Thank God for their central air conditioning and its efficient circulation.

After he’s cleared his sinuses to his satisfaction, Kiyoshi makes his way down the hall to the Toyokawa office space. He hopes Senpai didn’t tell everyone it was his birthday. Already, he feels like he’s had a full day, and it’s only 8AM. He supposes he’s at the age where he can finally say, _‘I’m getting too old for these things,’_ because he’s actually much looking forward to uneventful desk work for the next ten hours. He’s had enough activity for one day, as far as he’s concerned.

Things look promising when he first steps into the office. He clocks in at the machine without incident, and no one pays him any mind. Good. Looks like Senpai had been able to restrain himself after all.

Then, as he makes his way to his desk, as he’s done every morning for the past seven years, it starts: the staring. The looking. The double-takes. He brushes past Yamada-san and she very obviously stops to look at him from behind. Seriously, did he have a hole on the seat of his pants? Had he developed a bald spot on the back of his head overnight? He speeds up on the last two meters to his desk, almost folding under the weight of having all eyes on him, wrenches his seat back from his desk, and very heavily sits his ass down.

He peels off his backpack as he tries to will his heart to stop pounding. His brow is beaded with sweat; that shit was fucking nerve-wracking. _What the hell—_

“Adachi…”

 _Oh boy, here he comes,_ he thinks right as Senpai slides into the edge of his vision. Then, a heavy hand settles on his shoulder, the grip solid.

“Ah, uh…good morning, Senpai,” Kiyoshi says, not quite meeting the other man’s eyes. Did he always have to get so close?! And…had he done yard work so early in the morning? Why did he smell like soil?

“Yes, good morning,” he quickly greets back, though obviously, that’s not his main goal with this conversation. “Adachi,” he starts, and the tone makes Kiyoshi actually look at him. The look on his face is as serious as how he sounds, though with Senpai, it’s actually hard to tell—“Your health records are up-to-date, correct?”

 _What?_ he thinks. “What?” he says aloud, as well. “Mm, yes, nothing has changed since the last annual physical exam.” _Besides, it’s none of your business!_

“And you’re a beta?”

“Yes…?” he tentatively answers, not following this line of logic, which wasn’t unusual with Senpai, all things considered. He had the Secondary Sex Certificate at home to prove it, as he had had in his possession since he was thirteen. Not that he was going to volunteer it, even if Senpai asked.

Senpai purses his lips and nods like he understands, which…Kiyoshi is lost, hopelessly lost. “W-What is this all of a sudden?” he asks.

The hand on his shoulder claps down twice. “Adachi…” Senpai draws out his name as he slides in even closer, with a smile that he probably thinks is reassuring but just comes off as perfectly irritating. Kiyoshi tries to lean away as far as he can. “It’s not good to lie, you know. The company could get into trouble.”

“Lie--?!”

“It’s been obvious from the moment you walked in. Did you forget to take your suppressant today? Though, wow, the ones you have must be some really strong stuff, to have masked your scent so effectively all this time—“

_Suppressant—_

“Adachi,” Senpai says, still smiling, his grip on Kiyoshi’s shoulder vice-like, “You’re an omega, aren’t you?”

Kiyoshi stares.

And stares.

And stares.

And then the words register.

“EEHHH?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading until the end, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm really excited to see where this goes, and I hope you are too! This fic was inspired by [Kurosawa's behaviors on the show that pretty much fit the bill of my interpretation of what an attentive alpha should be like.](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1320413096259694592) So I'm really excited to get to those bits!
> 
> Let me know what you thought about this chapter by leaving a comment! And if you want to scream about Cherry Magic or talk to me more about my take on omegaverse, [feel free to contact me on twitter!](https://twitter.com/ax100writes) :)
> 
> If you liked this story, please consider liking and retweeting my post about it:  
> [Chapter 1](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1321338252016545792?s=20)
> 
> That's it for now! If you're down here for the omegaverse primer, keep reading!
> 
> ~~~~~
> 
> If you're new to omegaverse or if you're just curious about it, this next bit is for you! Here are some basic tenets of omegaverse you need to know:
> 
> \- Aside from the M/F sex spectrum (I refer to it as the "primary sex"), all humans also have their secondary sex, which can either be Alpha/Beta/Omega.
> 
> \- Generally speaking, alphas and omegas have certain features in their biology that set them apart. Alphas tend to be physically bigger and stronger than betas and omegas, as they are meant to be hunters/protectors. Omegas, on the other hand, are meant to be nurturers, to protect the home and raise offspring. These instincts are bound by physiology, so alphas/omegas may have certain urges to behave in particular ways. Betas are basically your run of the mill, normal humans.
> 
> \- In any omegaverse setting, a common feature you will read about is the scent/pheromones. To a certain extent, everyone has a scent. Alphas tend to smell like trees, wood, smoke, etc. Omegas generally have sweeter scents, like flowers. Betas also have scents, but these are usually mild and don't tend towards any which way. These scents emanate from scent glands, which are generally located on the inner sides of the wrists in the area of the neck/shoulder. Some settings also have scent glands located on the inner thighs and on the nape of the neck. Alphas and omegas have a stronger sense of smell and are more perceptive to pheromones than betas. Betas can still perceive these scents, albeit to a lesser degree.
> 
> \- One unique feature of alphas and omegas is the estrus cycle. Omegas go into heat (frequency is dependent on the writer/artist), during which they are fertile. Heat pheromones trigger rut in alphas. Copulation happens, and pregnancy is pretty much a 100% guarantee during this time. Question: Can male omegas get pregnant? Yes, this is basically a scientific way to introduce mpreg into your story. I don't usually feature mpreg in my stories, this one included.
> 
> \- Bonding bites are another common feature in many omegaverse settings. During heat, an alpha and an omega can bond by biting each other on the back of the neck. This basically binds them forever to each other, though omegas usually get the short end of the stick. Bonded omegas can only mate with their bonded alpha, or else their body will reject the mating; omegas may even fall sick if they try to mate with an external partner. An alpha/omega bonded pair's scents will change (usually with a note from their partner's scent), which signifies to others that they are bonded.
> 
> \- Because heats can be quite disruptive to one's daily life, some form of suppressant exists in most omegaverse settings. These are medicines that are taken by omegas to stymie their heat, though general consensus is that these can't be taken for too long, since you ARE suppressing a vital biological process. Some settings also have suppressants for alphas, which are designed to suppress or at least diminish the manifestation of rut.
> 
> \- It goes without saying that betas do not have these problems.
> 
> That's pretty much it for the general features of omegaverse! Please take note that this is a sandbox more than anything else, and different artists/writers have different interpretations, which I think is pretty cool! I, myself, am interested in the societal impact such biology can have--what laws would have to be enacted? Do omegas suffer hiring discrimination because of their biology? etc., etc. So you can expect these kinds of tidbits to show up in future chapters as well!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adachi experiences a riveting medical consultation and realizes something about a certain co-worker of his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hi hello, y'all! Ax here! First of all, congrats to my readers in America! I hope you guys can finally breathe easy after a long and hard battle. You did it!
> 
> To everyone reading, did you guys see episode 5? More important question: ARE YOU OKAY AFTER WATCHING EPISODE 5???? AND THAT PREVIEW FOR EP 6???? My god, this show is going to drive me insane before the end of the year. These cliffhangers get worse and worse with each episode, I swear!!!!!
> 
> This chapter was a lot of fun to write because I do love me some worldbuilding!! I am lucky to be blessed with friends in many different fields because I am *constantly* asking for their advice for my fics. Case in point: I had a lengthy talk with my friend who's in med school about the best way to write this fake medical report for this fake medical condition. At the end of it, though, please don't take the medical-sounding jargon and explanations here so seriously because (and I hope I don't have to explain this any more than this) **everything here is fake science!!**
> 
> That is all :) I hope you guys enjoy!

**NAME:** ADACHI KIYOSHI  
**AGE:** 30 yrs  
**PRIMARY SEX:** M  
**SECONDARY SEX:** Ω

 **CHIEF COMPLAINT:**  
Px previously categorized as β recently started to emit Ω pheromones.

 **ASSESSMENT:**  
To confirm anecdotal findings, the Standard Tests for Secondary Sex Identification were administered.

 **FINDINGS:**  
Tests performed on XX/XX/20XX have confirmed that Px is emitting Ω pheromones. All other results support initial impression that Px has presented as Ω. (See table below for summary of lab results.)

 **REASON FOR REFERRAL:**  
Px referred to specialist for diagnosis of condition based on performed tests.

 **DIAGNOSIS:**  
Delayed presentation of Px as Ω.

And there it was, in black and white. Unbelievable.

“Seriously…?” Kiyoshi mutters, staring down at the summary page of the test results in his hands. The report was heftier than he had expected, the product of the battery of tests he had been subjected to a few days prior. It had been an entire half day of being poked and prodded by a small army of nurses and doctors, while answering invasive questions in between. Not the way he would have envisioned spending his 30th birthday, after the Chief had practically shoved him out the door with taxi money and an order to get some tests done at the hospital, for leaking copious amounts of pheromones everywhere like a teenager.

“Is this even possible?” he asks as a proper question this time, still unable to wrap his head around it.

“Yes, though uncommon,” the doctor seated across him says—a male omega, he had introduced himself as. Not much older than Kiyoshi himself was. Kiyoshi’s sense of smell wasn’t that strong ( _yet_ , the doctor had reassured him, to Kiyoshi’s despair), but he could kind of get the whiff of something sweet coming off him. Apples, maybe? He had a comforting demeanor to him. “Normally, the results for secondary sex identification tests are released the day of or the day after, but we thought it would be prudent to do some double-checking—erm, triple-checking, for some of your tests. It’s quite rare that one presents this late. You’re quite special in that regard, Adachi-san,” he ends with a chuckle, like that’s supposed to make Kiyoshi feel better.

“Mm…” he makes a noncommittal sound instead, scrunching his nose when the sting of disinfectants in the air hits his senses again.

The doctor doesn’t seem to have expected him to say much anyway, as he smoothly transitions to the next part of the consultation, flipping to the next page on his clipboard. “How are the interim suppressants we gave you?” he asks, his eyes scanning the paper.

“Well…they’re fine, I suppose. No one commented on…” On what, his _pheromones?_ “…Well, no one commented,” he finishes lamely, still a bit overwhelmed by how fast things were happening.

He had… _presented_ (he still flinches at the thought) on Thursday; it was now Sunday. The Chief had let him take the first half of Thursday off to run his hospital tests, but lunchtime had him swallowing a large pill (literally) and coming back to work and pretending nothing had happened. Though everyone at the office still stared at him, the fact that no one on the street even looked twice in his direction comforted him a little. Friday was largely the same, though he did have to stutter his way through a few uncomfortable questions thrown his way whenever Senpai got bored or when the girls’ curiosity got the better of them. He’d only been saved from biting his own tongue off when they were called out by none other than—

“As was discussed with you last time, the interim suppressants are formulated to block emission but not production of the pheromone,” the doctor rattles off, snapping Kiyoshi out of his thoughts. “This is standard medication given to newly presented alphas and omegas, as they are prone to ‘pheromone belching’ while the body recalibrates itself. But it’s nothing to worry about. You’ll be producing a steady, inoffensive stream of pheromones in no time, as opposed to…clouds of them.”

Right, that was the reason he had been stared at so blatantly in the first place by everyone he passed by last Thursday, the doctor had explained to him last time. He had basically been doing the pheromone equivalent of blowing smoke in the face of each person he had come into contact with.

“You should continue taking the dose until the end of the week, as recommended, then we can discuss suppressant options.”

“Options?” Kiyoshi echoes. He hadn’t known that there was more than one kind.

The doctor gives him a patient look. “Ah, yes, just a second…” He stands and goes to the filing cabinet at the corner of the room, on top of which sat a plastic rack of pamphlets of different colors. He takes one each of three different colors, then comes back to sit across Kiyoshi once more. “This is the kit we usually give to the parents of newly-presented alphas and omegas, especially if the parents are betas,” he explains, before handing Kiyoshi the first pamphlet. _‘Secondary Sexes – Basic Information on Alphas, Betas and Omegas’_ is written on the front. “How much do you remember from your health classes in middle school and high school?”

Not much, if he’s being honest. “Well, a little of this and that, I suppose…” he says tentatively, taking the pamphlet. He opens it and comes face-to-face with pretty much what anyone in this day and age would know about secondary sexes. What are pheromones; a general overview on the similarities and differences in the anatomy of alphas, betas, and omegas; and graphs illustrating demographic statistics—roughly an equal number of alphas, betas, and omegas in Japan based on last year’s census. The most interesting section was the FAQs—apparently, some people still thought that male omegas could get pregnant, and that female alphas had penetrative genitalia. Kiyoshi was a bit relieved to know he wasn’t _that_ out of the loop, at least.

The doctor holds out the second pamphlet to him, and Kiyoshi immediately feels his stomach give a sickening lurch when he reads the title:

_‘Estrous Cycle – Everything You Need to Know about Heats and Ruts’_

He hesitates, but eventually does take the proffered item with shaking hands. The doctor seems to understand his reluctance but thankfully doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he maintains a cool bedside manner and proceeds to introduce each section of the pamphlet with a tone of clinical detachment. Kiyoshi doesn’t really listen, even though he knows in his head that he should. But he may or may not be freaking out, so he can hardly be blamed, he thinks as he nods along. He puts the thought of _heats_ and _ruts_ aside for now because if he thinks about it any more than this, he is going to _combust._

Finally, the doctor hands him the last pamphlet, with the words _‘Suppressants – Choosing the Best One for You’_ written on the front.

“As for this one,” he says, “I recommend you study up on this before your next appointment and think about which type would suit your needs best. Most readily available suppressants for omegas are a combination of partial scent blockers and heat suppressants, but there are ones with more specialized functions, if ever you need them…”

Kiyoshi flips through the pages of the pamphlet as the doctor continues to speak, and his eyes pass over several highlighted keywords— _heat suppressant, rut suppressant, fast-release, slow-release, partial scent blocker, full scent blocker—_

“Um,” he starts as he looks back up, and the doctor’s gaze immediately snaps to him, attentive. “Couldn’t I just…continue using the suppressant I’m using now? You said this one blocks scent completely, right? I don’t really…”

_Want to think about it…?_

_Want to be noticed…?_

_Want to be an omega…?_

The doctor studies him for a moment, before straightening up in his seat. “Certainly, it is possible…” he says slowly, his tone measured. “However, I do not recommend it. Most secondary sex specialists wouldn’t, in fact. Full scent blockers are not advisable for use in the long-term. Have you ever heard of ‘pheromone clogging’?”

Kiyoshi shakes his head.

“Pheromone clogging is the effect of long-term use of full scent blockers. Because the scent glands are still producing the pheromone but emission is blocked, it results in a build-up of the pheromone within the body,” he explains. “This build-up can be highly dangerous and can lead to blood poisoning, or sepsis, if not treated. It is for this reason that we do not the use of full scent blockers in the long term…Ah—“

Kiyoshi must look as wide-eyed and paralyzed as he feels at that moment, because the doctor cuts himself off when he looks back at him, then immediately pulls on a more reassuring expression.

“But don’t worry about it, Adachi-san,” he quickly amends with an appeasing gesture. And maybe Kiyoshi was imagining it, but was the scent of apples getting stronger? “Being on full scent blockers for just a week is not going to have any untoward effects. I was speaking more in terms of, say, three months or more. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Okay…” Kiyoshi nods, feeling indeed a little more relaxed, a bit of the tension in his shoulders slowly draining away. A small part of his brain tells him that maybe it wasn’t purely from the doctor’s words, that maybe the scent of apples that was steadily growing stronger also had something to do with it.

Curiosity wins out in the end. “Um, Sensei,” he starts.

“Yes?” the doctor regards him patiently, that little half-smile on his face. It reminds Kiyoshi that this man is a professional, and that he’s used to these kinds of things, probably.

“Are you…um…” His eyes flicker down to his hands folded on his lap, resting on top of the pamphlets from earlier, as he flounders for the words, not really knowing how to phrase the question. “Are you…putting out your scent?” He’s not sure if that’s what the young’uns called it. Or if that’s what anyone called it, really. “It seems like it’s…getting stronger, somehow…?”

“Ah,” the doctor says, and when Kiyoshi looks back up at him, he looks a bit surprised. Maybe even a little impressed. Then, he smiles gently. “I’m surprised you could pick up on it so easily, but I guess an adult would be able to detect the difference more easily than a child would…” He nods. “Yes, I’m emitting some calming pheromones. I apologize if it made you uncomfortable. You just smelled so nervous. It’s become a bit of a habit with my patients, you see.”

Kiyoshi blinks as he stares at the doctor, processing the words. He had ‘ _smelled_ so nervous’. Which meant—“Sensei, does that mean…can you…smell emotions?” he asks, then immediately wants to hit his head against something. That probably sounded stupid.

Thankfully, the doctor does not laugh at him, but instead answers him plainly: “Hm…” His eyes trail up to the ceiling first, looking thoughtful. “Well, to a certain extent, I suppose so, though that’s also not a wholly accurate description.” Then, he looks back at Kiyoshi. “It’s not like a sign that says, ‘Oh, I’m happy!’ or ‘I’m feeling sad,’ but rather, it’s more of picking up on subtle changes in people’s scents, which can signify certain changes in their mood. It’s not like mind-reading or anything, or else that would be awfully convenient! Heaven knows that would make my job a hell of a lot easier!”

He laughs, and Kiyoshi does crack of a bit of a smile at that. He liked that his doctor seemed to have a bit of a sense of humor, straightforwardly answering any dumb questions he had.

His laughter settles, and he continues, “More than anything else, it’s a sense you develop over time and by interacting with a lot of different people. Alphas and omegas have a better sense of smell so they are able to practice this more, but it’s not like betas can’t detect pheromones themselves—I know some betas myself who are quite adept at ‘reading the atmosphere,’ so to speak.”

Kiyoshi nods. He knew some people, too, who were like that; he wasn’t one of them. Vaguely, he wonders if he could be one of them now—those people who were good at reading the atmosphere—now that he was…he was…

Hrm.

“Anyway, it looks like everything is going along well. Just make sure to take the rest of the interim suppressants as prescribed, and think about what kind of suppressants will suit your lifestyle best, based on the materials I’ve given you,” the doctor says as he scribbles a few notes down on Kiyoshi’s file attached to his clipboard, then looks back up at him. “Do you have any other questions or concerns?”

Kiyoshi looks back at him. His list of questions and concerns ran miles and miles long. He wouldn’t even know where to start. He shakes his head instead.

The doctor nods, gives a small smile, then writes another note on his clipboard. “Alright, then I guess I’ll see you next Thursday then, Adachi-san.”

* * *

Kiyoshi feels more than a little wrung out by the time he’s able to exit the hospital.

Up until precisely four days ago, he had been living normally—just a normal beta, living a normal life, working a normal job, and having the occasional normal problem. Now, he had to think about things like _heat cycles,_ and _what type of suppressants would he like_ , and _oh god, that meeting he has with HR this week_. In just the span of a few days, his world had been turned upside down, and if this was an extended lucid dream, he would very much like for it to stop and for him to wake up already, please.

But, of course, the reality isn’t that simple.

He takes a deep breath out there on the sidewalk, sucking in some clean, fresh air to clear his senses (and his sinuses—the scent of disinfectants had started to give him a headache). It was starting to get colder now, the harbinger of the autumn season, and the brisk air does lend him some clarity. Briefly, he tries to imagine how the rest of the year would play out, but finds that he has absolutely no idea what to expect. All he can think about are the pamphlets stuffed in his bag.

It’s frightening, to say the least. But he’ll get by. Somehow.

 _I know that they say that things change once you hit thirty,_ he thinks, _but I don’t think this is what they meant._

A cold breeze blows by, and he shivers, then pulls his jacket tighter around himself and starts the trek back to his apartment.

* * *

The next day, he goes to work as always. It’s his third day showing up on full scent blockers, and people have mostly gotten over the novelty of his situation, which he’s thankful for. He did suffer the occasional questioning glance in his direction on the way to the office, but his doctor had reassured him it was most probably because he didn’t smell like anything, due to the medications, rather than him ‘pheromone belching,’ as he had called it. Between stinking up the entire place and not smelling like anything at all, Kiyoshi knew which option he vastly preferred.

He’s at the copier when a tall figure in a pristine suit passes by the periphery of his vision, then stops.

“Adachi,” the figure calls to him, and Kiyoshi looks up to be met face-to-face with none other than the star of the sales department, Kurosawa Yuuichi, all polished shoes and bespoke textiles and a smile that made everyone’s knees weak. The leather bag dangling from his hand and the slightly windswept hair tell Kiyoshi that he had just come in from a client call.

“Ah, Kurosawa, _otsukare,_ ” he says, because it’s the polite thing to do. Kurosawa smiles that signature megawatt smile of his in return.

 _Ah, he’s blinding,_ Kiyoshi thinks, maybe squinting a little. Seriously, this guy practically sparkled.

“ _Otsukare,_ ” Kurosawa answers, as if Kiyoshi had actually done much of anything compared to him, then steps in a bit closer, his expression softening, and lowers his voice to ask, “How are you doing?”

 _How am I…?_ “Uh, fine…?” Kiyoshi replies, discreetly taking a step back. His eyes dart to the open lid of the copier. “Just making some copies.”

At that, Kurosawa smiles again, like Kiyoshi had said something funny, and standing this close, Kiyoshi can kind of smell something fresh emanating from him, indistinct in his inexperience with scents, but still sharp. “You had your doctor’s appointment yesterday, right?” he asks.

 _Ah._ His thoughts grind to a halt. _That’s what he meant._

Kiyoshi shrugs, taking another step back to try and put a little more distance between them. “Yes, it was…fine,” he says, not meeting his eyes. “Thanks for asking.”

“I see,” Kurosawa says, not bothering to give chase to Kiyoshi. He was still smiling from what Kiyoshi could see out of the corner of his eye. “That’s good to hear.” There’s a note of finality to it, and Kiyoshi can feel something inside himself uncoil slightly in relief. Of course Kurosawa was the type who wouldn’t pry into other people’s affairs, unlike Senpai and some of the girls—

“Thank you, by the way,” Kiyoshi abruptly says as he remembers. His eyes dart up just fast enough to see Kurosawa cock his head inquisitively, before looking resolutely at that one spot of dirt on the divider wall. “For, uh, last week. With Senpai and the others. I-I know they probably didn’t mean anything bad by it, but it was just…” He trails off, not really knowing how to continue the rest of the thought. _Thanks for telling them to get off my case when they were getting into really uncomfortable territory?_ He feels distinctly stupid now; maybe Kurosawa didn’t even remember something like that, and now Kiyoshi just looks like a fool.

There’s a huff, and when Kiyoshi looks back up, Kurosawa is smiling again. A reassuring one, not as blinding but just as nice to look at. “There’s no need to thank me for that,” he says, and there’s a note of sincerity in it. “I can’t imagine it’s been easy, adjusting to everything that’s happened. And in such a short amount of time too. You shouldn’t have to deal with people trying to get you to share things like that when it has nothing to do with them.”

It’s such a simple sentiment, laughably obvious until people wanted to stick their noses where they didn’t belong; then, it seemed like all previous knowledge of propriety flew out the window. But to have it laid out so matter-of-factly like that, Kiyoshi feels somewhat comforted by it. Distantly, it reassured him that he wasn’t just being cagey; he had a right to privacy too.

“R-Right,” is all he can say in response.

Kurosawa’s smile pulls wider and he gives a little nod. “Talk to you later then,” he says, then turns to proceed to his desk, with Kiyoshi watching after him.

 _Kurosawa’s a good guy,_ Kiyoshi finds himself thinking as he finishes up with the copier and proceeds to staple the documents together. Of course, he had known that, but they weren’t exactly close. But now, after that exchange that has left him feeling settled rather than discomfited, he knows it for sure.

 _Maybe that’s why they call him ‘an alpha among alphas,’_ he thinks as he staples the last set of documents together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for the chapter! Please do let me know what you think by leaving a comment, I especially love reading about the parts that people enjoyed! It's really a great motivator for me!
> 
> And if you feel so inclined, do consider following me on twitter @ [ax100writes](https://twitter.com/ax100writes)! Feel free to DM me about Cherry Magic thoughts or take a gander at my best performing tweet of all time, which is [a Tsuge meme I posted at 3AM while I was still high off the episode 5 fumes](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1324419121631514624) T_T
> 
> If you liked this story, please consider liking and retweeting my posts about it:  
> [Chapter 1](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1321338252016545792?s=20)  
> [Chapter 2](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1325388569347698690?s=20)
> 
> That's all! I hope you enjoyed and see you next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between not having greeted Adachi on his birthday, learning that his long-time crush is actually an omega, and dealing with his own stupid alpha brain, Kurosawa Yuuichi is having A Day™.
> 
> -
> 
> In which Kurosawa has the first of many existential crises brought about by one (1) Adachi Kiyoshi, and how he steels his resolve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hi, hello, Ax here! It's been a while, hasn't it? I do apologize about that because OHHHH MYYYYYY GODDDDDD EPISODE 7 MELTED MY BRAIN I LITERALLY COULD NOT SLEEP AFTER WATCHING IT!!!!!!! I'M JUST SO HAPPY.......SO HAPPY FOR THESE TWO............KURODACHI IS FINALLY REAL.............. TT____TT And Kurosawa's POV was so sweet. I was so caught up in his feelings and was so happy for him and Adachi, I actually started working on another fic in addition to this one.
> 
> YES, THAT'S RIGHT!! I'm currently working on another Cherry Magic fic in addition to this. It won't be omegaverse this time, but I will be withholding details on it so it can be a surprise! I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I've been writing it.
> 
> With that being said, let's get back to this fic! This is basically Kurosawa's POV on some of the events in the fic that have happened so far. I hope you enjoy, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter as you go along! (Basically, PLEASE liveblog your reactions in the comments, those are my favorites! LOL)
> 
> Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Kurosawa Yuuichi is not okay.

Kurosawa Yuuichi is _very much_ not okay.

Why, you ask?

Well, it all started this morning. And before this morning, there had been nothing— _nothing!—_ to indicate that on this very day, Yuuichi’s entire world was about to be turned upside-down.

It started out just like any other day. He got up with the first rays of the morning sun hitting his face, washed up, fixed himself a quick breakfast, got dressed, and headed out to go to work. If he took a little longer to make sure his hair looked good, if he spent more time than was strictly necessary picking out the perfect tie to go with his three-piece suit, and if he agonized all the way to the office on whether or not the brand-new [standing pen case-slash-organizer](https://twitter.com/kokuyo_st/status/1328568945616576513) sitting in his bag could be construed as too extravagant (or too simple, which was actually his bigger worry) of a gift to give to a coworker he wasn’t particularly close to, then that was no one’s business but his own.

It was Adachi’s birthday, after all. And the man was turning thirty. Surely, Yuuichi could be excused for wanting to make him feel a little special on his big day.

_(Though, if he could have it his way, he’d want to make Adachi feel special everyday. But that was a whole different matter entirely.)_

_Casual, keep it casual,_ he reminded himself as he sat down at his desk, greeting his coworkers. It _was_ a good morning, indeed. He wondered what would be the best way to approach Adachi without scaring him off. The man was jumpy even on the best of days, and Yuuichi didn’t want to make him uncomfortable—least of all, on his _birthday_.

He glanced at the clock—Adachi would be arriving anytime now. The thought made a new wave of butterflies erupt in his stomach as he tried to think of a game plan.

 _What if I pretended to go to his side of the room to get something? Or talk to someone? I guess I could talk to Tanaka-san about the data I asked about the other day…yes, that seems like a good idea,_ he thought, nodding to himself. He glimpsed at his gift through the open mouth of his bag sitting by his feet. He’d take it with him, walk over there, casually— _casually, like colleagues would—_ pat Adachi on the shoulder, greet him a simple happy birthday, and give him his gift, before continuing the rest of the way to Tanaka-san’s desk.

Yes. Good plan. And if he could manage to get a look at Adachi’s surprised face—the way he’d surely be a little sheepish, unused as he seemed to be with receiving gifts—then that would just elevate it from _good plan_ to _great plan._

Yuuichi stifled the grin he could feel coming up, as he forced his leg to stop bouncing.

It was five minutes later and he was starting to settle down into his work for the morning, when a bout of commotion near the entrance to the office caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder and was about to ask Iriguchi-san to his right what was happening, when it hit him as well:

A sweet, sweet, _sweet_ scent slamming into him like a brick wall.

He hiccupped a little at the strong scent, pervasive as it was, and he coughed a little as his senses tried to readjust to the sudden onslaught of stimulation that was quickly making him dizzy. He fished his handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed it against his nose and mouth. The physical blockage helped a little. But still—who in the world was _pheromone belching_ at the _office?_

He glanced back again, just as a figure emerged through the door into the main space, the scent becoming exponentially stronger as they entered. Yuuichi froze. And then he blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things because—

Because—

That person who was belching what was unmistakably omega pheromones was none other than the well-established beta, Adachi Kiyoshi.

Which is where Kurosawa Yuuichi finds himself now: at home after the longest day he’s ever had at the office, with an unopened, _ungiven_ birthday gift mocking him from where it sits squarely on his coffee table.

He is, in all facets of the word, _exhausted._

 _Okay, okay, okay,_ _let’s go over this again,_ he thinks as he leans back on his couch. His eyes trail up to the ceiling, running a hand through his hair as he turns the situation around in his head.

_Facts: Today was Adachi’s birthday. His 30 th birthday. I didn’t even get to greet him! Agh—wait, no, stay focused, Yuuichi. Okay. Adachi. Thirtieth birthday. Today. And for some reason, despite being a beta…he came in smelling like an omega._

_…_

He slaps his hands to his face. Nope, it still didn’t make any sense.

_This is crazy. How is that even possible, isn’t he a beta? What is it, late presentation? At our age, is that even still possible? Unless…unless he’s just been telling people he’s a beta?_

He drags his hands down slowly over his face, staring at the ceiling.

_What if he’s…actually been an omega this whole time? And was hiding it? It’s…actually pretty impressive, if that’s the case. There are scent blockers strong enough to hide it this well? But…why would he hide it? Did something bad happen to him in the past to make him want to conceal his status…?_

At the dawning realization of such a possibility, Yuuichi feels a bad feeling start to well up in his gut.

Being an alpha, his knowledge of the kinds of problems omegas faced in their daily lives was largely academic at best, the kind of things he knew were terrible on an objective level, but would never really be able to fathom the anecdotal experience of—workplace discrimination in anywhere from hiring to promotion, societal expectations for omegas to focus on child-rearing once they were married or bonded, the casual harassment they encountered on a regular basis…

_(Unbidden, he remembers a time when he found a kouhai of his in university crying in a secluded corner on campus, and when he’d asked her what had happened, she tearfully confided in him that she had been followed by a group of alphas who were loudly jeering about giving her a bonding bite all the way to school. The sickening thought of it still makes his anger surge, just as sudden and explosive as it had been then, until this very day.)_

His stomach gives a sickening lurch at the memory. Had something like that happened to Adachi? It would make sense, then, that he’d want to hide his status. But it’s a thought so awful, he didn’t even want to consider it…

_Wait…_

The image of Adachi’s face suddenly blooms in his mind, shocked and confused and frantically trying to explain something to Urabe-san while all eyes were on him not even two minutes after arriving at the office. And again, embarrassed—or maybe even mortified—and jittery and apologetic as he stood in front of the Chief’s desk to receive instructions to get tests done at the hospital, while everyone around them pretended not to notice the thick blanket of omega pheromones choking the air inside the office. Yet another—Adachi visibly tense and uncomfortable, practically folded in on himself when he came back in after lunchtime, making eye contact with no one as he brisk-walked to his desk, now smelling like absolutely nothing…

 _Are those the signs of someone who had been hiding their status?_ Quite possibly, he had to admit. But the pheromone belching, the hospital trip Adachi hadn’t protested to, then the absolute absence of a scent, almost as if chemically induced by full scent blockers—

_Could he really have…just presented as an omega today?_

Yuuichi pulls himself up to sit up properly on the couch as his brow furrows. Then, he grabs his phone off the coffee table (he pointedly ignores the unopened gift next to it), and pulls up the browser.

 _Late…secondary sex…presentation…_ he types into the search bar.

Half an hour later and a dozen articles from anywhere from medical journals to tabloid websites, Yuuichi puts down his phone and runs a hand through his hair with a sigh. The search hadn’t yielded much, except for confirming that it was at least _possible_ for someone to present late. And with each web page he had gone through, it was starting to look more and more likely that that was the case with Adachi. But in terms of the possible side-effects of late presentation, all he got for his efforts was a resounding, _‘your mileage may vary.’_ Not very helpful. Then again, what would he have done with the information anyway?

He laughs a little at himself, maybe a little self-deprecatingly. He knows _exactly_ what he would have done with the information. Any way he could be of help to Adachi, he wanted to do it. Him, and preferably no one else.

 _Ah, stupid alpha brain,_ he thinks, not for the first time, most definitely not for the last. Now that the information was starting to sink in, that _Adachi is an omega,_ he could feel a part deep within himself curl in anticipation, pleased with the new development.

 _No, stop it,_ he scolds himself, slapping himself a few times on the forehead for good measure. _What are you so pleased about? This isn’t good. Adachi’s definitely stressed about this. I just want to help him as a friend, alright? As a friend!_

Right.

As a friend.

Though, that seemed to be too generous a term, too. _Colleague_ seemed to be more fitting. Appropriately distant, as they were. The thought is a little more than a tad bit depressing.

His eyes fall on the ungiven gift on the coffee table, and he leans his head back on the couch with a grimace and a groan.

What the hell was he doing? This wasn’t the time to be bemoaning the state of his friendship (colleagueship???) with Adachi. The man probably had enough problems as it was, with all of these changes happening, and all on his birthday, too, to top it off! Right. Right. The best thing Yuuichi could do for him was be supportive, whatever that meant. Because he was Adachi’s… _cohort._ And not because he had stupid alpha brain telling him that there was an omega that needed protecting at the back of his mind. Definitely not that.

Because when it came to Adachi, it’s never, ever been that.

 _Be supportive, whatever that means,_ he decides. _Yes, let’s do that._

He nods to himself, resolute. He’d figure it out. He always does.

* * *

Fridays at the office always carry a certain energy in the air with them—the relief for the end of the work week, the anticipation for the upcoming weekend, the excitement for the free time they would finally have, to do the things they couldn’t over the course of the week.

Today carries a bit of a different energy to it, and Yuuichi has a sneaking suspicion that a lot of it has something to do with the four, frankly gigantic, portable air purifiers situated at each of the four corners of the office. They’re doing an excellent job of purging, well, _all_ the pheromones in the space (quite unnerving, all things considered), and Yuuichi can’t help but think that four seems a tad excessive, if they’re worried about pheromone belching by _one_ guy, who already appeared to be on scent blockers anyway.

“Doesn’t it feel like when you’ve gotten your ears cleaned at the doctor’s, Kurosawa-san?” Rokkaku comments good-naturedly as they enter the office, back from a client call and a quick lunch. As they step in through the door, the muted presence, if not _absolute lack_ of pheromones throws Yuuichi off just as it did this morning. “The last time I got my ears cleaned, I swear I could even hear the air circulating through the vents! It was so weird! I thought, ‘Is this how my hearing is supposed to actually be like?’ I was so surprised!”

Yuuichi laughs, but is really only half-listening to the story. As they make their way back to their respective desks, his eyes scan the area. It was almost the end of lunch, so some people were already back from their breaks. He hoped that Adachi was one of them, as he usually was, because the (now belated) birthday gift still sitting in his bag was starting to weigh more and more heavily in his mind as time went on.

A part of him was embarrassed about giving it late, and he briefly considers not giving it at all, but then quickly reminds himself that Adachi had hardly been in a position and/or state of mind to receive it yesterday, with everything that had been going on. Giving it then would have been the more insensitive option, surely. So Yuuichi is still in the clear with this. Hopefully.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a familiar bedhead bobbing along as Adachi heads back to his seat, carrying a small zippered pouch in his hand. Some of the hair near his face is wet, and the skin around his jaw is a bit red, like he had washed his face and brushed his teeth and wiped up afterwards with a rough paper towel. Yuuichi can’t help but smile a little at that; it was so like Adachi to not pay attention to insignificant details like those.

He digs out the gift, still wrapped, from his bag, and starts making his way over. No big plan this time; it was still lunchtime, so he could theoretically get away with just going over there to greet a colleague a happy birthday and give them a gift, then turn on his heel and head back to his desk. Colleagues being nice to each other, nothing suspicious there. Still a good plan, still with the potential to become a _great_ plan. Good thinking, Kurosawa Yuuichi, go for it.

As he approaches, he sees that Urabe-san has already wheeled his way into Adachi’s personal space, which is…not unusual, but still irking. He watches as the man drapes a casual arm around Adachi, leaning in and leering. Whatever he’s saying must be _some_ sort of distressing, as Adachi visibly tenses up the more he speaks. From Adachi’s other side too, two of their younger female colleagues suddenly come in out of nowhere, standing over him with wide eyes and cheeky grins. Based on how Adachi folds even further into himself at their presence, whatever questions they were asking would surely not bode well for his reputation in the gossip mill later tonight.

Yuuichi feels his nostrils flare a little, a bout of protectiveness cresting involuntarily. _Don’t touch him,_ he wants to tell them. _Can’t you see that he’s uncomfortable? Leave him alone!_

He clenches his jaw shut as he arrives at his destination, and the four of them—Urabe-san, the girls, and Adachi—all look up at him.

Suddenly, he finds that he’s thankful now for the four gigantic air purifiers, because he’s pretty sure if anyone took a whiff of him right now without them, they’d find him stinking the place up with protective alpha stench.

 _Ridiculous,_ Yuuichi chastises himself as he gives them a forced smile. _Get it together._

“Sorry, it seems like I interrupted something,” he says genially.

“Kurosawa-san!” one of the girls practically squeals. At this point, he’s gotten pretty good at masking his grimace at the shrill tone, and she seems none the wiser for it. “Are you here to, ehem, _interview_ Adachi-kun too?”

“’Interview’?” he parrots, feigning ignorance.

“Ahh, don’t go faking on us now, Kurosawa! You were here too, right?” Urabe-san says, then jostles Adachi in his hold, causing him to flinch. “When Adachi here came into work, omega scent and all! Don’t tell us you didn’t pick up on it, eh, alpha?”

The hand he has stuffed in his pocket clenches into a fist. His eyes flicker towards Adachi for a second, but the other man isn’t looking at him at all. Instead, he’s got his eyes fixed on the ground, looking like he wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

Yuuichi wills his jaw not to tighten, and instead, gives as bland of a reply as he can: “Ah, that? Mm, I did notice, of course. But I’m not here for that.”

At that, Adachi does look up at him, surprised. Yuuichi holds his gaze and holds up the gift in his hand. “I came here to give this, actually. It’s a bit embarrassing since it’s late, but…” He holds it out to Adachi and gives him a smile, honest and genuine. “Happy birthday, Adachi.”

Adachi blinks, before taking the item with tentative hands, like he was confused that this was happening. “Oh, uh, thank you…Kurosawa,” he haltingly says. “I’m, uh…surprised that you knew it was my birthday.”

It’s a lonely thought, and Yuuichi wants to tell him that, not only did he remember, but he had actually bought him another gift a few weeks prior and stopped himself from giving it, because [a 38,000-yen pajama set](https://sleepysleepy.jp/c/item2/mens2/hd6251z205) was definitely _not_ something normal colleagues gave to each other on their birthdays. Which is why he hauled himself to the nearest stationery store to his house and forced himself to choose, instead, a woefully more reasonable present. (A part of him mourns for the pajamas, though; he knows that they would look perfect on Adachi.)

Instead, Yuuichi gives a short laugh. “Well, it hardly seemed like the time yesterday to give this to you…” he diverts. Then, because he can’t help himself, continues with, “Whatever is happening, I’m sure it’s been a tough situation for you, since you’re the one actually directly affected by it. The best the rest of us can do is give you space while you figure things out.” Half of it is out of real concern for Adachi, and the other half is an admittedly selfish jab towards the others. They’re staring at him now, probably just as surprised as Adachi with this act. He dutifully ignores them, and gives Adachi what he hopes is a reassuring smile.

“Oh…” Adachi says slowly, nodding, obviously not knowing what to say.

Yuuichi wonders if it had been the right thing to do, saying those words, but he doesn’t dwell on it. He decides, instead, to spare Adachi the task of having to think of a reply. “Well then,” he says, stuffing his hands into his pockets, careful to keep his expression neutrally pleasant. “I should get back to my desk. Lunch is over already anyway.” He gives both Urabe-san and the girls a tight-lipped smile. “Let’s all do our best.” Then, he turns on his heel and walks back to his area.

By the time he’s taken his seat, he sees that the girls have dispersed and Urabe-san is back at his desk, where he should be. A part of him is satisfied to see that he had chased them off successfully. His eyes drift over then to Adachi, his back turned to him and the tension in his shoulders now gone. Good, he’s glad that he seemed more relaxed now.

Then, he notices Adachi turning the gift over in his hands, inspecting it. Yuuichi wonders if he’s going to open the gift, but guesses he was probably the type to open gifts after getting home. He is proven right when he sees Adachi bend over to retrieve his backpack, tug open the zips, and place it carefully inside. It’s a shame he won’t get to see Adachi’s reaction opening it, but he hopes he likes it all the same.

With that done, he opens his laptop and settles into his work. As he does, however, he can’t help but still feel the residual irritation over Urabe-san and the girls. What were they hoping to get out of cornering Adachi like that? The man was already shy as it was, and Yuuichi had meant it when he said that the best everyone could do was leave him alone. Whether it was late presentation, or being outed, or anything else, Adachi deserved to deal with all that without having the unnecessary stress of having to explain himself to people who only wanted to be entertained and not to actually help.

Yuuichi didn’t want to be like that. He didn’t want Adachi to think of him like that.

 _Be supportive, whatever that means,_ he’d decided last night. It was a vague commitment at best, shapeless. It had bothered him, not having a more solid answer. But facing Urabe-san and the girls—no, being in front of Adachi, it had been easy to come up with the meaning.

 _Give him space,_ he turns his words from earlier again in his head. _And help him when he needs it,_ he adds, because he knows himself well enough.

Maybe this can be how he can be supportive of Adachi and his situation today. And if the meaning of ‘be supportive’ changes tomorrow, he’d go along with it too.

Maybe his commitment wasn’t _vague_ so much as it was _malleable,_ or _adaptable,_ or _capable of change._

Because whatever Adachi needed, Yuuichi wanted to give to him.

And that, he knows with absolute certainty, was _not_ because of his stupid alpha brain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kurosawa's got the Adachi brainworms: CANON.
> 
> I watched episode 8 last night (tbh, I was writing this chapter while waiting for the ep to air) and one of my favorite things is discovering all these new sides to Kurosawa. Who knew that his guy was actually the biggest dork on this show? I've been enjoying writing in his POV lately, so this chapter was super fun to write! I hope you liked it too!
> 
> Also, did you catch those little easter eggs I threw in? :3 If you didn't, the pen case Kurosawa gave Adachi is based on something Adachi actually has on the show (see Kokuyo Stationery's tweet about it [here!](https://twitter.com/kokuyo_st/status/1328568945616576513)) and I'm sure we're all familiar with [these pajamas...](https://sleepysleepy.jp/c/item2/mens2/hd6251z205)
> 
> Please do let me know what you think by leaving a comment below, that's what fuels me!! And if you'd like, feel free to follow me on twitter, [@ax100writes](https://twitter.com/ax100writes) :)
> 
> If you liked this story, please consider liking and retweeting my posts about them:  
> [Chapter 1](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1321338252016545792?s=20)  
> [Chapter 2](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1325388569347698690?s=20)  
> [Chapter 3](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1332208921193320448?s=20)
> 
> Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adachi has 99 problems, and it's starting to look like heat isn't one of them.
> 
> -
> 
> In which Adachi has a grueling meeting with HR, and gradually comes to the realization that his biggest enemy in all this may not be biology, but bureaucratic red tape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively: In which the author's background in HR comes out and sucker punches you in the face.
> 
> Hey hi hello, Ax here! First post for December is another Cherry Magic omegaverse chapter, go figure! With how good these episodes are, can't say I'm surprised (Ep 9?? HELLO???? Oh, virgin Tsuge, it seems like we barely even knew thee...)
> 
> Anyway, chapter 4! This chapter was simultaneously a lot of fun and also the biggest headache to write! I'm sure you know by now, based on previous chapters, that I love me some worldbuilding, and let me tell you, THAT BRAIN GETS FLEXED HARD HERE (I'm so sorry in advance). 
> 
> For context, I worked in HR for two years, where my paperwork brain got muscled up, big time. My favorite part about AUs is figuring out how the new circumstances fit in with existing real world social systems, and how they affect even the most mundane parts of our lives...like personal identification and bureaucratic red tape. (For further context, I am also a social science graduate haha) That's what gets my blood pumping, okay!! Paperwork! Logistics! Legislature! So sue me!!!
> 
> That being said, I poured a lot (A LOT) of research into this chapter. One minute, you're googling what a birth certificate in Japan looks like, then next thing you know, it's 4AM and you've spent the last 14 hours reading up on Japanese family law, labor law, and public health.
> 
>  **Before you start this chapter, PLEASE READ THIS SECTION BELOW!** These concepts will be important in this chapter, so I will briefly outline them here, but if you would like more details and references/resources, I will expound more in the end notes.
> 
> But first, VERY IMPORTANT:
> 
> **DISCLAIMER: All details regarding the National Health Insurance, Employee Health Insurance, and family registry system in Japan, as well as all details regarding other existing Japanese social systems, legislature, and interpretation of such, are based solely on my understanding of the resources I found on the internet. Please be advised that my interpretation of the information I have come across may not be accurate, and that I cannot ensure the credibility of many of the sources cited. This story is a work of fiction, and the interpretation of information presented should NOT be used as a reference for their real-life counterparts. Reader discretion is advised. Thank you.**
> 
> **_Employee Health Insurance_**  
>  This is one of the two major statutory (meaning, government-managed) public health insurance systems in Japan. By law, organizations with five or more full-time employees must enroll their employees in this system. Those who are enrolled can enjoy a 70-30 coverage scheme, in which 70% of all medical expenses (provided, they are included in the coverage) will be covered by the insurance, while 30% is out-of-pocket expense by the individual, unless the company shoulders that portion or the individual has further private health insurance.
> 
>  ** _Koseki / Japanese family registry_**  
>  Unlike some other countries, Japan's civil registry is not based on the individual, but rather, on the family. The koseki is a record of a household and all births, deaths, marriages, and all other civil actions of its members throughout their lifetime. Since Japan has no system of individual identification, the koseki also doubles as such--meaning, for example, if a Japanese citizen wanted to obtain a document that records their birth, they would have to get a certified copy of their koseki (known as as koseki tohon), which would show that they are registered as a member of this household, born on this date, of this sex, to these parents, etc., as there is not really any document known as a 'birth certificate' that is recognized there. ([Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_certificate#Japan)
> 
> For the context of this fic, the secondary sex would also be recorded on the koseki. However, in light of the fact that people in this universe do not present until they hit puberty (ave. 13 years old), this portion is left blank on a koseki until such time that the child presents. Once they do, and the Secondary Sex Certificate (issued by a doctor or any otherwise certified medical professional) is submitted, the secondary sex field is updated, which then becomes the basis for coverage by the National Health Insurance or Employee Health Insurance systems in the future.
> 
> For more details on the EHI and the koseki, please refer to the end notes, where I talk about them in more detail, give a bit more context of what this chapter means for Adachi, and share some of the resources I looked up for this fic!
> 
> Now that I have sufficiently bored you to death, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

It’s Wednesday afternoon, just after lunch, and Kiyoshi is subtly trying to wipe his sweaty palms against his pants.

It’s nerve-wracking, to say the least, to be sitting in one of the smaller conference rooms with Matsumoto-san from HR. That in itself would be enough to make his stomach churn with dread, but even more so now since he was here to, of all things, update his employee record to reflect his newfound status.

“First off, thank you for joining me today, Adachi-kun,” Matsumoto-san says with a diplomatic smile.

“Ah, thank you,” he says, bowing in return.

She was older than him, a woman in her fifties in a smart pantsuit with salt-and-pepper hair cut short, and crow’s feet around her eyes when she smiled. In many ways, she reminded him of a teacher he might have had in middle school or high school. Or a guidance counselor, maybe? Someone in a position of authority who actually cared for the people they handled. Perhaps. He couldn’t smell anything strong emanating from her, which probably (rather, _possibly—_ Kiyoshi was still new to all this, after all) meant that she was a beta. He’d never given it much thought in the past.

“How have you been?” she asks as busies herself with opening the white folder she has on the table with her—he’s not surprised to see his own picture on the first page; he’d had the sneaking suspicion that it was his personnel file.

“I’m alright,” he replies automatically. He doesn’t think she wants to hear about how he had stayed up late last night reading the pamphlets he had received from the doctor over the weekend, and how he had pored over every word until he had only fallen asleep from eventual exhaustion.

She hums at that as her eyes scan the page. From where he’s seated across her, he can see the way her gaze falls on the _Personal Information_ section on the upper half of the page, undoubtedly looking at the row that reads _Secondary Sex:_ β.

There had been debates at the time that he was applying for work, way back in his third year of college eight years ago, on whether it was truly necessary to indicate one’s secondary sex on job application forms, citing hiring discrimination against omegas, a hot topic at the time. Kiyoshi hadn’t much cared about the debates either way, since they were irrelevant to him, and he filled it out the row without hesitation. In the end, it had been decided that it was vital information for employers in case of health emergencies, and so, the blank on job application forms stayed.

He vacantly wonders what he would have felt like at the time, about those debates, had he been in the situation he’s in now.

Matsumoto-san looks back up at him. “How did your consultation at the hospital go?” He recognizes the question for what it is— _Does this row need to be updated?_

“Ah, yes, I actually brought the results of the tests…” He moves to take them out of the plastic envelope he’d brought with him.

“That won’t be necessary,” she interjects, giving him a patient smile. “We’ll just need a copy of your new Secondary Sex Certificate, as well as the copy of the Certificate of Delayed Presentation that you were issued.”

He looks back up at her, surprised. “Oh, um…I haven’t received them yet,” he blurts out, then promptly clamps his jaw shut.

The crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes tighten a little with the pursing of her lips. Uh-oh.

He puts his hands back down on his lap and bows, his forehead almost touching the table’s surface. “I apologize, the doctor said it would a few days for the documents to be prepared…” Shit, he should have informed Matsumoto-san right when he came in on Monday! He’d known it by then!

He hears her let out a slow exhale, then she says, “It’s alright, Adachi-kun, the documents can be to follow.”

He slowly straightens up, feeling at least ten shades of embarrassed and ashamed. “I apologize for the inconvenience,” he says again, unable to meet her eyes.

“Of course, it would have been ideal,” she sighs, “but it’s not like that was the only thing I called you here for.” She closes his folder—the _Secondary Sex_ line remains unchanged—and moves it to the side, revealing a manila envelope that had been sitting underneath it. She slides this over to him. “Fortunately for both of us, there are still many other things to discuss, so this meeting was still warranted.”

He feels simultaneously relieved and apprehensive at the sound of that. It’s good that he hadn’t gone and wasted Matsumoto-san’s time _completely_ , but what else could they _possibly_ have to talk about?

He takes the envelope and lifts the flap to see a few sheaves of paper, stapled together into groups. He takes them out as a whole, just as Matsumoto-san takes out a similar stack of papers from the clear L-file she has with her. They’re handouts, Kiyoshi quickly realizes—the index of benefits given to all new employees upon their contract signing with the company. He doesn’t even remember where the copy he had been given all those years ago is anymore.

“Looks familiar?” Matsumoto-san asks, no doubt noticing the way his eyes are scanning the first page, a mess of tables and text with headers like _Qualification Matrix_ and _Availment Schedule._

“Ah, yes.” He nods. _Somewhat,_ he thinks, but doesn’t dare say aloud. He’s already on thin ice here, he feels.

“This is the Benefits Index for Employees,” she introduces anyway. “It has changed here and there over the years, so it might be somewhat different from the copy you were given when you were first on-boarded.”

He nods. He’s still not entirely sure why he’s being shown this.

She reads him easily, it seems, as she gives him a wry smile. “In conjunction with the change in your status, Adachi-kun, there will now be some changes to the benefits you can avail of. In particular, you are now eligible to receive benefits for omega employees.”

His head jerks up to look at her, staring, staring.

Benefits for omega employees.

Omegas, like him.

 _Oh, shit,_ he thinks, as it dawns onto him all over again, for what feels like the hundredth time in less than a week. _Omega. That’s me. Oh, shit._

Outwardly, he gapes for a second, then quickly rearranges his face into something a little less shocked. “Right, of course,” he agrees, his voice coming out a little squeakier than intended.

Matsumoto-san gives him a bland look, like she’s a little too busy to be amused by his nonsense, and that’s probably deserved, Kiyoshi thinks. He needs to stop freaking out every time the o-word gets brought up in relation to him at some point.

This is his new reality now, after all. Even if he still can’t wrap his head around it.

She walks him through the first handout, where nothing much has really changed—work hours, computation of overtime pay, bonuses, and the like. He can tell that it’s mostly for formality’s sake, before they move on to the second handout.

“For the healthcare benefits, nothing on paper has really changed, though I suppose the patterns of your utilization probably will,” she says, an off-handed comment more than anything else. “I don’t imagine you used to visit secondary sex clinics that much in the past.”

He shakes his head. Except for his secondary sex identification test in the past and just recently, he couldn’t really recall any other time he had gone to see a specialist.

She nods at this. “Well, it’s probably something you’ll be getting used to then, with all the check-ups.”

Right, that was…that was going to be a thing, wasn’t it? His two visits with the specialist so far had only been the beginning of what was shaping up to be a long and fruitful (?) relationship with a part of the Japanese healthcare system he had never really given much thought to. And now, it’s here, it’s real, and it means he’s actually going to start using his tax money for something other than his annual physical exam and his semestral visit to the dentist.

“So, just to review, all consultations, procedures, and check-ups related to secondary sex concerns are covered by your insurance in the regular 70-30 scheme. Any medications prescribed to you in relation to this are similarly covered as well,” she says smoothly, well-rehearsed in a way that told Kiyoshi that this was probably how she discussed this topic during new hires’ orientations as well.

He nods along.

She flips over to the next page, and he follows suit. “Now, though we haven’t yet talked about heat leaves—“

He chokes, flinching hard enough for his elbow to skid off the table. He catches himself before he can do something even more horrendously mortifying, like smack his face against it, but by then, it was already too late.

_HEAT LEAVES?!_

“Adachi-kun! Are you alright?” Matsumoto-san asks, halfway out of her seat, her face painted with surprise and concern.

“I-I’m alright,” he says as he straightens up, and of course his voice cracks a little, because _why the hell not._ He clears his throat. “I’m alright,” he tries again, attempting to cobble at least some semblance of dignity back together. “My apologies.”

Matsumoto-san’s stare lingers just a bit longer, making sure he was fine, before she settles back into her seat. “Alright…”she slowly says, before she directs her attention back to the papers in her hands. Kiyoshi tries to do the same. However, now that she’s been assured that he’s alright, he can’t help but feel that the look he’s getting from her over the top of the handout is now vaguely unimpressed. To be fair, he’s plenty unimpressed with himself right now as well.

 _Yes, Adachi-kun, omegas have heats and therefore get heat leaves,_ her eyes seem to say, exasperated, maybe even a bit despairing.

Omegas, like him.

 _He’s_ an omega.

He wants to stick his head into the ground and scream.

“As I was saying,” Matsumoto-san continues, and Kiyoshi valiantly does not look anywhere in the general direction of her eyes, because if they make direct eye contact, he might _actually_ smack his head on the table, and then he’ll have to quit and find a new job just so that they never have to see each other again. “Though we have not yet covered discussion of your… _leaves_ —“

Generic term, safe in plurality. His bones are going to vibrate straight out of his body.

“—As part of your healthcare benefits, you are also, of course, entitled to the use of any public or private heat care facility, subject to the same payment scheme for hospitalizations and other in-patient admissions. However, this only covers basic care services, such as usage of a heat room. Do be advised that heat assistance services are not covered by the insurance, so you will have to pay for it out-of-pocket, if you choose to avail of them.”

He nods along as she speaks, but inside, his head is a mess of new jargon and no definitions to go with them— _Heat care facility? Heat room? HEAT ASSISTANCE SERVICES????_ They bounce around the inside of his skull like on a DVD player idle screen, intimidatingly abstract, but at this point, he’s too afraid to ask.

They move on to the third handout soon enough without further incident, and then Matsumoto-san looks up at him and starts, “So in regards to your leaves…” She does so tentatively, looking at him with scrutinizing eyes, like she’s worried he’s going to freak out again.

“Yes,” he quickly replies, because he’s an adult and changes in one’s life should be approached steadfastly, and with great confidence. Or something. He’s mostly still trying to figure out in his head what a heat assistance service is, and if it could really be what he’s afraid of it being, based solely on the wording.

The fact that he doesn’t immediately balk seems to relieve her a little, as her shoulders lose a little of the tension with her exhale. She’s being incredibly patient with him, he realizes.

“In regards to your leaves,” she says again, with more confidence to continue this time, “your annual paid leaves have not changed, as well as your sick leaves and emergency leaves.”

He nods in understanding.

“However, you will now be entitled to another type of leave that is only given to omega employees: heat leaves.”

He nods again, though not without some stiffness, admittedly.

“Technically speaking, it’s a special type of medical leave, which you may be familiar with if you’ve ever undergone an operation and needed to be confined for an extended period of time.” He’s never had. “In a year, you are entitled to forty days of paid heat leave, which is what is mandated by law. However, you can apply for up to a maximum of fifty days in a year, provided that there is clearance from your doctor.”

He nods at this. Forty days of heat leave a year. He’s not sure if that’s a lot or a little. It’s slowly dawning onto him just how little he actually knows.

“In order to avail of your heat leaves, you will have to submit a written clearance from your doctor to the HR department at least one week before you are scheduled to go into heat. Of course, this may not always be possible, so you may submit a medical certificate up to one week after your heat. For this, the medical certificate will need to indicate the start and end dates of your heat, and the duration of it.”

Doctor’s clearance at least one week before heat, or medical certificate up to one week after heat. Got it. Kiyoshi’s glad that all of this is written down in the handouts, because none of it is actually sinking in, unfortunately. Call him slow, but he’s still stuck on the _‘I am an omega and therefore can and will get heats’_ part of this whole thing.

“Similar to other types of medical leave, heat leaves cannot be carried over into the next year, nor can they be converted to cash.” With that, she looks back up at him. “That’s it for leaves. Any questions, Adachi-kun?”

Just like when he was sitting across the doctor a few days prior, when it came to questions, he had _so many_. But, just like then, all of them are abstract and murky. Maybe more than _having questions_ , he was just generally _confused_ , and he wasn’t really sure how anyone could save him from that.

He shakes his head.

She gives him a doubtful look, but doesn’t press the issue. “Moving on then…”

They go over some of the other miscellaneous benefits, which haven’t really changed much in relation to his new status, but he’s thankful for the review, either way. It gives him some time to think, at least, and let the plethora of new information stew in his mind. By the time they’re wrapping up, he’s mostly calmed down.

“Ah, that reminds me,” Matsumoto-san says, just as she returns her copies of the handouts into the clear file. “This may be a rhetorical question, but you have not updated your koseki yet, have you?”

He looks back up at her to see that she’s giving him an expectant look. His koseki—his family registry—why was she…?

“Um…Not yet…” he awkwardly replies. Was that something he was supposed to do…?

She purses her lips and lets out an exhale, but doesn’t seem surprised by the answer. The concern that creases her brow doesn’t seem to be directed at him this time, which is a bit of a relief. “Hm, I see…”

“Is there a problem?” he asks, his stomach churning with worry.

She seems to consider how to answer for a moment, folding her hands together on the table. Then, her eyes dart back up to him, the gaze calculating. He can’t help but sit up a bit straighter under her scrutiny. “You are currently listed as a beta in your family’s koseki, correct?”

“I…yes,” he answers. He hasn’t needed a copy of it in a while, but he’s pretty sure nothing has changed since the last time he saw it.

“Then, to put it plainly, yes, there is a problem.” Before he can react, she continues, “It’s only occurred to me now, but it’s highly likely that we will not be able to update your health records for the insurance claims, until your koseki has been updated accordingly.”

“Eh?” he says before he can stop himself, blinking at her in surprise. It’s not a polite reaction, by any means, but she lets it slide.

“It’s a bit of a tight spot,” she explains. “We still request that you submit your updated Secondary Sex Certificate and the Certificate of Delayed Presentation as soon as you get them. However, we will not be able to forward them for amendment of your records with our insurance partners, since it will not match up with your current status in your koseki.”

At his blank stare, she says it straight, in black and white: “This means that you will not be able to avail of the healthcare benefits we’ve discussed thus far, nor will you be able to apply for heat leaves, as they are specifically for omegas only.”

He stares at her for what feels like forever, immobile and brain nothing but static, as the words slowly sink in. She gives him his moment, thankfully. This meant…This meant…

“So…this means…my hospital visits and my medicines…won’t be covered by the insurance?” he slowly says, trying to parse through everything that had been said thus far, to reach the logical conclusion.

She nods. “Until your koseki has been updated,” she confirms. “Until then, any services availed of must be paid out-of-pocket. That applies for prescription medication too.”

Kiyoshi truly wants to bang his head on the table now.

“Ah…” he sounds out, speechless.

“But don’t worry about it, Adachi-kun, we’ll make sure to get any expenses incurred during this time reimbursed once all your paperwork is in order, hm?” Matsumoto-san smiles at him sympathetically. “For your heat leaves as well. For now, if you need to go on leave for your heat, we’ll just count it against your general medical leaves and adjust accordingly later. Just make sure to get the medical certificate, as discussed. We’ll be referring to the issuance date on it for the adjustment of your leaves later on, so you’ll still need to get within the specified timeframe, alright?”

“Right…” he agrees with her numbly because, at this point, he’s not entirely sure what else he _can_ do.

She nods, seemingly satisfied with his understanding of the situation (oh, if only she knew…), before she moves to gather her things up into one pile. The white folder from earlier goes at the very top of the stack. Kiyoshi remembers the vital line on the first page that is apparently going to give him hell (mentally, financially, and all else) as long as it remains unchanged. His mind lingers on this, already going around in all kinds of circles, as he sticks the handouts he had been given back into the manila envelope they came in.

Matsumoto-san waits for him to finish, before she meets his eyes again. And, for the first time in the entire hour they’ve spent together, she seems to soften a little at his obvious distress. “I know it’s a lot to take in, Adachi-kun, and I know that it’s quite overwhelming,” she says, her tone kind. “But the company will do everything it can to help you.”

It’s at least _a smidge_ comforting, plus she _is_ being very kind, so he tries to pull on a smile. He doesn’t think he succeeds. “Th…Thank you, Matsumoto-san,” he says, thumbing the edge of the envelope in his hands. Then adds, “I apologize for the inconvenience,” because he feels like he needs to reiterate it.

Her smile pulls a little wider at that, and something in him relaxes. Hassle though he and his situation may be, maybe he can be a polite hassle, at the very least, and quell her ire.

Then, she fixes him with the same diplomatic smile from earlier and says, “We’ll be expecting the requested documents as soon as possible, alright?”

He resists the urge to sigh. Of course. “Understood, ma’am.”

* * *

Kiyoshi heaves a heavy sigh as he sinks into a chair in the employee lounge.

He is tired, so tired. No, something even beyond the realm of _tired_. Exhausted? Absolutely drained? No matter what word it was, all he knows is that his head is pounding, he has no energy left to work, he wants to go home, and more than anything else, he wants to _scream._

_I knew that the meeting with HR was going to be important, but…nothing like that!!!_

For one thing, he hadn’t counted on his newfound status **_effectively locking him out of the Japanese public healthcare system_** _._ And right when he needed it too, with all the follow-up appointments he had lined up and all the suppressants he would surely need to buy.

The thought makes him groan, leaning over heavily onto the table. His groceries, his bills, his rent…

“Adachi?”

He jumps at the call of his name near him, nearly shooting out of his seat. He comes face to face with none other than—

“K-Kurosawa…” _Of all times…!_

Kurosawa looks back at him with open concern written all over his face, standing a few feet away, poised like he had been on the way out when he had spotted Adachi. In his hand is a can of coffee from the vending machine. “Sorry for surprising you,” he says, sounding genuinely apologetic. “Are…Are you alright?” he asks.

“I’m…” _Fine,_ he considers saying for a split second, then immediately wants to hit himself on the head. Of _course_ he doesn’t look anywhere near _fine._ He must look like a right mess right now, slumped in a chair in the empty employee lounge in the middle of the work day. And if the way he had been running his hands through his hair in the restroom just a few scant minutes before, in the hopes that he would have calmed down in there (he had not), was anything to go by, then his hair must be all over the place now too.

He lets out a rough sigh. Path of least resistance it is then. He thinks he deserves that much, at least, after what he’s just been put through. “I have a problem,” he admits. _Well, probably more than one,_ he doesn’t say.

“Oh,” Kurosawa says, then shuffles back and forth between his feet, like he’s trying to figure out how to react. Okay, maybe path of least resistance hadn’t been the best course of action. Kiyoshi is about to apologize, tell him to forget about it, when Kurosawa tentatively asks, “Could I…ask what happened?”

Kiyoshi has never been one for oversharing, and he’s certainly not going to start now, with his dazzling coworker who probably had way more important things to do than listen to him bitch and whine. “Oh, um,” he tries to come up with the words to convey this.

“Ah, please don’t feel pressured,” Kurosawa is quick to reassure him. “I just thought…Well, if there’s any way I can help…”

“Unless you know how to update a koseki, I don’t think—“ Kiyoshi blurts out, then promptly bites his tongue. _Yes, what was that about not oversharing?_ He shakes his head. “Ah, sorry, sorry, that was…Just forget about that.”

“Your koseki?” Kurosawa repeats with a curious tilt of his head.

He grimaces inwardly. Maybe a little outwardly too. He gets up and grabs his things off the table—an unneeded medical report and a stack of papers that would do little more than mock him until he got his life in order—and shoves the chair back under the table with his foot. “Ahh, never mind. Please don’t worry about it,” he hurriedly says, not quite meeting Kurosawa in the eyes. “’Scuse me, I have to go…toilet.”

Then, he scurries off with his metaphorical tail between his legs, the back of his neck prickling with embarrassment. He feels Kurosawa’s gaze heavy on his back the whole way out.

* * *

That night, in his apartment, he tries to seek the answers to at least some of the (numerous—rather, _innumerable_ ) questions he had. He’d written them down in a notebook over the course of his dinner, a convenience store bento and an ill-advised slice of cake he definitely should not have been eating (it’s been a rough day), and now he’s got it next to him, pen in hand, as he scrolls through Google on his laptop.

 _‘How to Update/Amend Your Koseki’_ is the title of the page he’s currently reading through, and he is just a thin thread of control away from throwing his laptop out the window.

 _Any amendments made to a koseki should first be approved by the district family court in the domicile where your koseki resides,_ the page tells him. _For this, a duly accomplished appeal, endorsed by the head of the family, needs to be submitted, together with all pertinent supporting documents…_

_…Approval can take up to a month, as family courts can be very busy…_

_…Once approval has been secured, you may then visit the municipal government office of the domicile where your koseki resides, and process the amendment…_

_…Please be advised that this process can take a while, too, as…_

Slowly, he stands up and walks the two meters to his bed, then flops down onto it, face-down into the comforter.

And then, he screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO ONE'S FUCKING UNTIL EVERYONE'S PAPERS ARE IN ORDER, Y'HEAR ME!!!
> 
> So, I hope that chapter was okay with y'all! Poor Adachi, he's got...99 problems and heat is honestly the least of them, lmao.
> 
> What did you think about this chapter? This is quite some ways off from what most people were expecting when they clicked on this story, probably, and I'd love to hear your take on it in the comments below!
> 
>  **For further context and worldbuilding notes** (like...2000 words of further context and worldbuilding notes.........), please do consider checking out this doc: [Ax's Cherry Magic A/B/O AU worldbuilding notes](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sl0S5QMWuemkbiaJq1bhbn2m_244CJR2NHFfTI-kXF4/edit?usp=sharing)! I gave a few nuggets of information in the beginning notes, just enough for this chapter to make sense, but if you would like the "director's cut" (lmao), please check it out! It's 14 hours of research distilled into one little word file, which I hope is at least somewhat readable??? Let me know what you think in the comments back here!
> 
> This was a wild ride of a chapter, despite anything not really happening (???) LOL I hope you enjoyed that! If you'd like, please consider following me on twitter [@ax100writes](https://twitter.com/ax100writes), where I generally make a fool out of myself. And [SCREAM ABOUT EPISODE 9 WITH ME?? PLEASE???](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1334854841676353536)
> 
> If you liked this story, please consider liking and retweeting my posts about them:  
> [From Chapter 1](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1321338252016545792?s=20)  
> [Chapter 4](https://twitter.com/ax100writes/status/1335260486812663808)
> 
> That's all for now! Thank you for the support, and I hope to see you in the next chapter <3


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